CHAPTER 9 Car and Truck Expenses
- Deducting Car Expenses in General
- Actual Expense Method
- Standard Mileage Allowance
- Leasing a Car for Business
- Arranging Car Ownership
- Employee Use of an Employer-Provided Car
- Vehicle Trade-In
- Trucks and Vans
- Credit for Plug-In Electric Vehicles
- Reimbursement Arrangements
- Recordkeeping for Car Expenses
Americans are highly mobile, and the car is the method of choice for transportation. If you use your car for business, you may write off various costs. The IRS reported that on 2011 returns (the most recent year for statistics), car and truck expenses were the second largest category of deductions for sole proprietors (second only to cost of goods sold, which is not relevant to service businesses). In order to nail down deductions for these expenses, you must carefully observe certain recordkeeping rules. There are 2 methods for deducting costs: the actual expense method and the standard mileage allowance. In order to use either method, you must maintain proper records for business driving.
For further information about deductions with respect to business use of your car, see IRS Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses.
Deducting Car Expenses ...
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